CEO Spotlight

Innkeeper to the World

Frits van Paasschen is pushing his hospitality into the global marketplace, with a particular focus on emerging markets.

As Frits van Paasschen Pushes into the global marketplace, he keeps a close eye on a 16th century map of the Pacific Ocean. The map, one of his prized possessions, points to a new world, one whose contours the cartographer was only starting to grasp. There is no Australia. New Guinea is enormous. Japan appears to be sitting on its side. "There is a certain humility that goes with looking at that map," says van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.